Jack Griffin, Meredith Magazine Maestro, Takes Over for Ann Moore at Time Inc.

Former Meredith executive Jack Griffin will be taking over for Ann Moore as CEO of rival Time Inc., the largest magazine publisher in the world, according to David Carr. The news broke hours after Time Inc.’s second-quarter earnings call. Revenue was flat.

In his most recent stint at stint at Meredith, Mr. Griffin doubled the size of Meredith’s magazine business with the acquisition of Gruner + Jahr USA. In the 2009-2010 fiscal year — not an easy one for the magazine business by any stretch — Mr. Griffin raised Meredith’s revenue from $181 million to $192, and actually increased ad pages in titles like Better Homes & Gardens and Ladies’ Home Journal. Ad Age‘s Nat Ives wondered if Mr. Griffin would be heading to work with David Carey at Hearst.

Ms. Moore, who became first female chief executive of Time Inc. in 2002, will stay on as chairman until the end of the year, according to Shira Ovide. Her contract doesn’t expire until 2012, according to Mr. Carr (Keith Kelly says mid-2011). In 2008, Ms. Moore made the difficult decision to eliminate 600 jobs in Time Warner’s publishing division, but she managed to avoid closing any of Time Inc.’s titles.